Separable metal joint.



J J- F. GAIL. SEPARABLE METAL 101m. APPLICATION FILED AUG.20, 1915. I} 1,@55,873 Patented Feb. 12, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. F. GAlL.

SEPARABLE METAL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-20. 1915. mam'm Patented Feb. 12, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2. k.

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Application filed August 20, 11915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. GAIL, a citizen of the United States.- residing in the city of Kenosha, county of Kenosha, and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in separable Metal Joints, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in separable metal joints, and, although capabio of many uses, is particularly Well fitted for the joint connections at the corners of bedsteads of all kinds.

Among the salient objects of the invention are, to provide a separable metal connection which may be constructed of sheet or rolled metal throughout, thus obviating the risk of fracture, due to the use of cast metal; to provide a separable joint which is particularly rigid and adapted to resist exceptionally severe bending or twisting strains, such as are encountered in bedsteads; to provide a joint of the class described in which certain details may: be changed at slight expense in order to suit difi'erent needs; to provide a construction which may be applied to the parts to be joined in such a manner as not to detract from or injure the appearance of the finished structure; and, in general, to provide an improved separable joint of the clas referred to.

My invention may be readily understood when described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Flgure 1 is a side elevation of the female part of a preferred embodiment of my improved separable metal joint as applied to a metal bedstead;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the end of the usual side rail of the bedstead, furnished with the male portion of the joint;

Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 2, but in this case the rail occupies a reversed, upsidedown position to admit a diiierent form of bed-spring frame;

Fig. 4 1s a vertical longitudinal section taken through the center of the joint, illus trating the parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2 assembled together;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of Fig. 4, looking from the right of the figure;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial life. 46,425.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, but showing the reversed rail in Fig. 3 in place of the regular rail shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 9 1s a reduced plan'of the end frame of a bedstead embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the corner fastening applied to a metal bedstead, 10 represents the hollow bedstead ost which, in this instance, is formed 0 locleseam steel tubing. To the side of the said tube 10 is secured, by means of a pair of rivets 11 and internal curved Washers 12, the female portion of the joint, which I prefer to punch out of sheet metal so as to provide in plan a U-shaped mem ber 14, the arms of which are parallel and the end of the U having a suitable curvature to fit the side of the post. The rii ets 11 and washers 12, together with the shape of the parts 10 and 14:, constitute a rigid, permanent connection between the female portion 14 and the bedpost. It should be understood, however, that it do not limit myself to rivets to secure the said parts together, since other means, such as spot weld- 111g, may be employed to unite said parts rigidly together.

In bedsteads, for use with which my improved joint is particularly fitted. the two posts are usually connected together, both at the head and the foot endoI" the bedpostby means of a rigid tie-rod which ordinarily takes the form of a steel angle iron. In the prior constructions, however, the tierod performs no function except that of tying the two posts together. In my construction I utilize the said angle iron as a functional part of the joint itself, as well as for a tie-rod. To this end, ll perforate the arms 15 of the U-portion 14 so as to admit the end of the tie-rod 16, which is then permanently united to the arms 15 by upsetting, as at 17, or by spot welding, or other method. It will be noticed that the cross-section of the angle-iron 16 is not a true rightangle, but is somewhat obtuse in form so that the axis of the post and the plane of the inner face of the angle iron approach each other in a downwardly direction.

The separable male portion 18 of the joint, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7, is also stamped or die-formed from sheet metal, and is U-shaped in end elevation the upper bridge of the it being united to the top t'aee Patented Feb. 1L2, ilfiilld. I

of the side rail in any suitable manner, such as by rivets 19, although spot welding may often be employed to advantage. Ordinarily the side rail, which is in nearly every case an angle-iron 20, as shown, has its horiz ontal face at its upper edge; however, it is sometimes necessary to reverse the rail so as to lower the supporting-horizontal face for certain classes of bed bottom frames. Such a reversed rail is shown in Figs. 3 and 8, and it will be noticed that when using this reversed rail it becomes necessary to make a slight change in the shape of the male portion 18 so that a lower flange or lug 21 is provided to which the lower face of the angle-iron 20 may be united. The side face of theangle-iron is also united to one side of the male part 18 by rivets 22, as shown in Fig. 3, or by other means, such as spot welding. However, the position of the rail makes no difference in the mechanical function of the male portion 18 in its relation to the female part 14 of the joint. 7

' The construction of the joint and the mechanical relation of the parts thereof is apparent in view of the above description. When assembling the joint, the rail is raised so as to bring the male part 18 above the female portion 14 and in proximity to the post; then the depending arms of the male part are inserted between the sides 15 of the female portion 14. The male part 18 is finally forced down as far as possible within the pocket formed by the female part of the joint so that the vertical edges 23 of the lugs 24 are forced into the corners 25 of the U- shaped member 14, owing to the inclined surface of the inner face of the angle-iron 16 being engaged by the similarly inclined edges 26 of the lugs 24. The inclination of the edge 26 and the adjacent face of the angle-iron 16 is suitably selected so that the weight of the rails and Whatever is supported thereby, maintains the parts of the joint in fixed relation. The taper of these parts, however, is not so slight as to present any difliculties in disassembling the joint whenever it becomes necessary to dismantle the bed.

In choosing my shapes and dimensions for the various parts, I prefer to make the depths of the U-portion 14 and the vertical edge 23 great enough to prevent relative movement-in a vertical plane between the rail 20 and the post 10. I also prefer to provide a substantial distance between the arms of the U-portions so that the points of engagement of the inclined edges 26 of thedepending lugs 24 with the inner face of the angle-iron will be as remote fromeach other as possible, and thus prevent twisting movement of the rail 20 in a hori- 'zontal plane and relative to the post. The angle-iron 16, being rigidly supported by the arms 15, successfully prevents such by means of comparatively simple dies, and

thus I am able to make the joint at very low cost. The parts of the joint when thebedstead is knocked down for shipping purposes do not present any projecting portions which are liable to be bent or broken off in shipment; and, in general, the constructlon is such as to insure an extremely rigid, substantial and permanent connection which is fully able to stand up under abuse and severe stresses without danger of break-down.

Although I have illustrated and described my invention as applied to a metal tubular post bedstead, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that by making slight changes in the mechanical details it may be utilized in the construction of wooden bedsteads and for other purposes. It should be understood also that the construction shown is capable of being modified widely to suit individual needs; hence, I do not wish to be limited to the details shown, except as specitied in the appended claims.

I claim f 1. In a corner lock for takedown frames, a corner bracket having back and side members, a detachable side rail havin a down turned end portion, and a cross rail, the extremity of which is fastened to one of the side members of the corner bracket and adapted to detachably hold the down turned end portion of the side rail against the back member of the corner bracket.

2. In a corner lock for takedown frames, a side rail having an extension thereon providing a Wedge, a corner bracket, and a cross rail extending into said bracket and having one of its flanges disposed at a slight angle to said bracket to produce a tapering socket so that when said wedge is inserted in the socket itwill be held against accidental displacement.

3. In corner locks for takedown frames, a pair of side rails having extensions thereon serving as wedges, corner brackets each having a back and two side pieces, corner pillars on which said brackets are secured, and cross rails extendin r into and secured in the sides of said brac ets at an angle to the back of the bracket whereby said cross rails serve as ties for said frame and as one side of the openings for the insertion of said wedges.

4. In a bedstead having end frames connected by side rails, the combination of a pair of corner pillars, each of said last named parts having secured to it a member provided with a vertical socket, a tie-rod connecting said pillars, each end of said tienemes s rod functionally constituting one of the sides of said socket, and side rails having end portions fitting and insertible substantially vertically Within said sockets, said sockets and rail portions having tapering engagement With each other.

5. In a bedstead having end frames connected by side rails, the combination of a pair of corner pillars, each of said pillars having secured to it a stamped metal member, U-shaped in plan, the arms of the U being located substantially parallel with the line of the side rail, a tie-rod connecting the pillars together and having its ends extending across the ends of the arms of the U and supported thereby, said rod and each of said Us inclosing a space it-cornered in plan, and a-pair of side rails, each having adjacent its respective pillar a dependingtapered portion, l-cornered in sectional plan and substantially fitting 'Within the space defined by said U and tie.

6. In a metal bedstead, the combination of corner brackets each having back and two side members, detachable side rails having downtnrned end portions, and a cross fail the extremities of which are fastened to each of the side members of the corner bracket and adapted to detachably hold the downturned end portions of the side rails against the back member of the corner bracket.

7. ln a metal bedstead, a corner fastening including a bracket having a rear section suitably formed to fasten to the bedpost and side sections outwardly bent to receive and hold the cross rail, a cross rail the end of which is held by both sides of the corner bracket, and a side rail having a downturned end portion adapted to be wedged be tween the rear section of the corner bracket and the cross rail.

JQHN a, earn Witnesses JOHN J. MANGEL, FRANK T. Woman 

